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Friday, August 31, 2012

CIC can't call for Prez-PM letters on 2002 Guj riots: HC

The Delhi high court on
Wednesday ruled that the Central Information Commission could not have
access to correspondence between the President and the Prime Minister.
Allowing the Centre's appeal against the CIC, Justice Anil Kumar set
aside the commission's order to reveal to it the communication between
former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and then president K R Narayanan on the
2002 Gujarat riots.
“The order of the CIC of August 8, 2006 is liable to be set aside
and the CIC cannot direct the petitioner (Centre) to produce the correspondence
between the President and the PM… As it is barred under Article 74(2)
of the Constitution of India, the application of the petitioner seeking
such information will also be not maintainable,” the HC said. Article
74(2) of the Constitution bars disclosure of the advice given by the
council of ministers to the President.
The court pointed out that only judges of the Supreme Court and high
courts had the power to call for such material (the communication) to
peruse them under Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution.
“The CIC cannot claim parity with the judges of the Supreme Court
and the high courts,” the HC said, adding that the commission's interim
order for perusal of records was “wholly illegal and unconstitutional”.
While reversing the order of the full bench of CIC, Justice Kumar, who
retired on Wednesday, also dismissed RTI applicant C Ramesh's plea,
saying he was not “entitled” to the communication exchanged between
the then President and prime minister over the Gujarat riots.
The HC, while setting aside the CIC order, also observed that Article
74(2) of the Constitution could not be made subservient to the transparency
law as the same could not have been the intention of the legislature
and even if it was, the same could not come in effect without amending
the Constitution.

Teesta Setalvad

Teesta Setalvad is an educationist, journalist and human rights activist who has been committed to an egalitarian and diverse India, at the forefront of the struggle for justice equality and non discrimination. She co edits Communalism Combat heads and directs Education for a Plural India programme and is Secretary of Citizens for Justice and Peace. CJP is a Mumbai based trust committed to accountability, transparency and punishment to perpetrators of mass crimes within Indian democracy.